Alex Preston on his 'American Idol' Elimination: 'I Was Confident I Was Going Home'

The second runner-up will sing with his musical hero Jason Mraz in the season 13 finale.

Michael Becker / Fox

First Ryan Seacrest announced that Jena Irene would compete in the season 13 finale of American Idol. Then, in a climactic moment on Thursday’s results show, the series' longtime host revealed that the other contestant going into the finale was Caleb Johnson.

The news did not come as a shock to Alex Preston, who told The Hollywood Reporter a few minutes later, "I was pretty confident I was going home. I'm honestly surprised I made it this far, but it's all because of the fans. I'm so happy that people dug what I've been doing and it shows me that people are going to buy my record and see me on tour."

Preston wiped away a few tears while he was onstage with Seacrest, but he was all smiles when he talked to THR backstage, buoyed in part by the news that he would be duetting with one of his musical heroes, Jason Mraz, on next week's results finale. "I’m very excited to perform with Jason," Preston said. "He’s such a cool dude. We have mutual friends, Michael and Nancy Natter. They wrote a few songs on his new album, including 'I Won’t Give Up.' They texted me that they gave Jason Mraz my number and I should expect a text from him. Jason and I had coffee a couple of weeks ago and he was awesome. He's such a chill guy, such a nice soul.”

Preston talked to THR abut his plans for the future: "I want to keep writing with new artists. I want to record an album and go on tour. I want to do an organic kind of vibe, not too stripped-down but still kind of dirty. I don’t want it to be perfect. I want it to have imperfections. That's what keeps it interesting."

One of his co-writers may be season eight's third-place finisher, Danny Gokey, who made a point to meet Preston after the show. They exchanged numbers with the idea of a future collaboration.